Simple Summer Home Tour
The kids are done with school, the sun has been shining, and Summer 2020 is just about upon us! What a year it has been so far, eye opening, and at once both devastating and pregnant with hope. It’s been hard to want to share my home and projects here lately, because they feel rather insignificant in these times, but last week I came across a quote, from Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art, that encouraged me. “Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It’s a gift to the world and every being in it. Don’t cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you’ve got.” Maybe this simple summer home tour won’t change the world, but it’s something I can give you in this moment, and I hope that it inspires you to find beauty in the simple things, fill your home with pieces you love and things you make, and create a haven where you and your family can live, work, and play. If you are here from Sincerely, Marie Designs, welcome! Isn’t Amanda’s kitchen a summer dream? I also want to say a huge “Thanks” to Krista for hosting the seasonal simplicity summer tours! (A Quick note- WordPress did something to my photos and they are all a little blurry. I am so sorry! Please also note there is a shoppable sliding bar below each section for your convenience. This post uses affiliate links through which I earn a small commission. I am grateful for your support.)
My Summer Front Yard & Porch
Let’s start outside in our front yard, because that’s where we spend most of our days in the summer. I’m going to share some little snippets of real life throughout as well.
We’ve lived in this house for just about a year and a half. The back yard is an utter disaster, so we spend our time out front. Last summer, we purchased these affordable gray Adirondack chairs, and they have been such a great addition! I also found the little pink table at Five Below last summer, and it’s great to set down drinks. We all love to come outside to read, watch Wilder play, and just relax.
My thirteen year old daughter, Emmy, has been a life saver while she’s been home, and has spent so much time with her toddler brother, Wilder. She spent a couple of days scrubbing off his inflatable pool for him, and he had a blast! I set it up right next to the chairs so I can sit and relax while he plays, aka dumps water out of the pool. (Target no longer has this pool, but this one is really cute!)
We also changed out Wilder’s baby swing for Emmy’s disc swing. It’s not high enough to swing very high, but Emmy loves to come out here with a blanket to read under the magnolia. (Saying that makes me feel like a real southerner.) She sometimes takes Wilder out here to read to him as well.
I love that I can sit in my chair and relax and watch them interact.
Let’s head over to what is still one of my favorite budget makeovers, our front porch. I haven’t changed it much since its original makeover.
For the summer, I’ve added this boho peace sign flag my daughter and I collaborated on. (She’s the artist, and I put it together). The rainbow colors symbolize our support for pride month as well. I also added this black basket planter to the door. If you’d like details on how to paint a Swiss cross basket, check my post out here.
This past spring we had pansies in out planters because they can withstand the cooler temperatures. However, they were getting pretty leggy and it was time to let them go. I refilled our pots with a fern and another shade plant. I honestly don’t know the name, but I selected it because I loved the color it brought… more pink. 😉
Before we head inside, I want to share one more tidbit of life with you. As you can see from the painted peace sign, my daughter has been tapping into her creativity while at home. She’s discovered a love for drawing with chalk in our driveway, and loves to sit out there and create while neighbors walk by to check out her work. She’s an extrovert, and handled social distancing rather hard at first, but she’s found her groove, takes daily walks, and spends her time painting and drawing. I love this photo so much because I can just see the joy emanating from her.
The beauty of chalk drawing is that every few days the rain washes it away and she has a clean slate. Our driveway has seen many drawings over the last month or so, and she improves each time. As of the time I am writing this post, she’s just wrapped up Homer Simpson. You can see how she’s worked on shading below as well. At the end of each session, she comes inside covered in chalk dust, and I love seeing her like that, in her element, literally.
Thanks for indulging me as I share my child’s creativity. Let’s head inside now!
Summer Entry
Our entry is small but mighty! Last year I stenciled the walls, changed the lighting, and added this print, and this shoe bench, and it was all it really needed.
For summer, I mixed a little reality… hello ugly athletic slides… with fantasy… a tote bag and hat as if we were going to the pool. (With everything in the world right now, we decided not to join this year.)
Living Room
Just to the right of the entry is our living room, and my desk space.
Creating this little office in the living room has been such a lifesaver. I haven’t changed much about this little area, but I added a dandelion print I had on hand, Mother’s Day art from Emmy, and you can see my vision board hanging behind my computer screen, reminding me of the vision I have for my life.
I also added this adorable little sconce which is from a new sustainable lighting company! I have the Gio in Sedona, and I love the color so much for our space. We desperately needed a light that could double as a reading light for the sofa and a desk light for me, and this one did the trick.
Now let’s check out the rest of our living room, which we painted pink earlier this year.
For the summer, I simply remixed some pillows just to change things up. I grabbed the pillows from our banquette, which came from Victoria Sturup, and placed them on the sofa.
I also added a few plants that are actually from our basement family room. Our toddler spends too much time in this space for me to actually leave plants on the floor and coffee table!
Now let me show you where I did get a little more creative. Last month I painted a modern sun piece of art upcycling an old print I was no longer using.
As soon as I hung it, I knew I wanted to create other similar smaller pieces to go above the television and frame it out a bit. The sun is representative of the astrological sign of Leo, so that represents me and my oldest, Sawyer. I then painted the Virgo, Capricorn, and Taurus for the other three members of my family. I ordered custom frames from Custom Picture Frames so I could get exactly the size and style I needed, and I am thrilled with the outcome! (BTW, you can use code CASSIE20 to get 20% off your order at Custom Picture Frames.)
I’ll have a post coming on how I created them (I do not consider myself an artist, and truly think you can make something similar for your home!) My dog loves them. Can you see his enthusiasm?
I also want to mention the letter board that I added to the gallery wall. Lately I have been feeling the need to pause and feed my creativity for the fun of it, not for the result.
One of the things I love to do is play with words, so I’m tapping into that more these days, and had fun putting together a letter board with a summery inspirational quote. 
Here’s one last look back at our living room before we move on.
Dining nook
Just off of our living room is our former dining room turned eat in kitchen nook which we created during the One Room Challenge last fall.
This space is relatively small and bare because I like the pieces that are there to make a statement, such as our focal wallpaper.
In this space, I changed pillows, basically just swapping with our sofa. I also narrowed them down to just a few in the corner. Sometimes less is more, and summer is one of those times.
Our mural features a sun or moon, it could be translated as either really. Since we’ve been doing at home date nights each week, I decided to create a little romantic vibe and cut some letters with my Cricut maker and added song quote.
Speaking of date night, let me tell you a little story about those flowers on the table… If you look at my dog’s smug face below, it’s because he knows this story. He was here.
Let me start by saying that marriage is hard work. Last week, we had a terrible start to our designated date night day. Wilder and I were in the kitchen making too much noise and Chris got really mad at me and glared and stomped off because he had been trying to work. I was irritated because, hello, we live here, too! Anyhow, my feelings were really hurt… we’ve talked before about how he takes his work stress out on me, and that was the thing that was holding back my happiness at him going back to work. I was afraid to get “Stressed Chris” again.
Chris left for work that day (after the morning trouble), and we didn’t speak all day. When he arrived home, he brought me sunflowers. He is never one to buy me flowers, so he knew how much he had messed up. Of course, I was still feeling pretty down about it, so I accepted the flowers but told him I needed time and I didn’t want to have date night because I wasn’t feeling like I wanted to spend time with him. For the record, I am fully aware of how childish I can be. We were civil to each other, but he understood and respected my space. That night as I was laying in bed watching Netflix and scrolling instagram, I saw the news that my favorite couple, the one that gave me the idea to even start a weekly date night, had announced they were splitting up.
I was devastated that they were quitting, not putting in the work that they preached. Their quitting made me realize just how much I am willing to work at my own marriage. I left the bedroom, came and talked to Chris, and we rescheduled date night. We had a wonderful time, played boggle, and I kicked his butt. So we’re even. 😉
Anyhow, just wanted to share because it goes to show you never know what’s going on behind closed doors, and you can’t compare your life to another. Do you, and do the work.
OK, well now that you know more about me, let’s head off to the kitchen which is connected to our dining space as you can see here.
Kitchen
Our kitchen is probably my favorite room in the house because it’s the one where I spend much of my time with my family and with my snacks. 😉 As you saw above, it opens to the dining area, and then the other opening is from our small entry. By the way, I want to mention that our power went out the day I was shooting in my kitchen, so you won’t see the stove clock on.
We started renovating this space last summer, but it took so much longer than anticipated. I am thrilled to say that we are truly loving our kitchen and it was worth the wait, even if I couldn’t see it at the time.
In the kitchen, I simply changed the shelves a bit for summer, added a new dish towel, and sliced up some watermelon to bring in that summer fresh vibe.
Nothing says summer like watermelon and ice cream, right?
As I mentioned, I also changed out my dish towel to this one which features herbs. I absolutely love cooking with fresh herbs in the summer.
I shared how I restyled these shelves a couple of weeks ago. Not much changed really, because I love to keep my shelves functional, but I did change the artwork.
However, when I shared the summer shelves a couple of weeks ago, I didn’t show those to the right of the sink because I didn’t change them. This time I made one simple move.
Can you see it up there? Let’s get closer…
And closer….
I found that vintage floral painting at a yard sale last year and just love it! I never had the right spot for it, and to be honest I totally forgot about it. However, when I was flipping through my art to see what I could use to add summer vibes, I reencountered it, and was sold! I love the color it brings to this little shelf.
That’s it for the kitchen.
Let’s head down my rainbow hallway and into the last stop, which seems appropriate as it’s where I end most of my days in bed, reading, writing, or viewing. Our bedroom is at the end of this hall, where I am standing to take this photo.
Main Bedroom & Bathroom
Welcome to my peaceful retreat. This space is where I unwind at the end of each day, and that fan is on 100% of the time all summer long!
Our bedroom remains very similar to the last time we saw it, but I did add this lumbar pillow from Victoria Sturup’s shop to bring in a little color, well, a little blush. It mixes perfectly with our striped linen pillowcases from Modern Plum.
The jackalope approves.
On my nightstand, I changed out my tray for a larger one that balances a little better with Chris’, but mine has more feminine detailing to it.
I also added a plant in a DIY painted planter to bring some life to this corner. My Sony alarm clock has been going strong for over 20 years. Actually, I thought I was going to have to finally part with it, and then the power went out, and it snapped back into shape! It’s like a cat with 9 lives.
Below you can see Chris’ bulkier nightstand, which is perfect for hiding all of the remotes.
Chris’ dresser stayed the same, but it now has a seashell with sunglasses on it. Because Summer.
Here’s a closer look for you.
My own dresser didn’t change much either.
I changed out my accessories for some of my favorite summer jewelry, and I am hoping I actually get to go somewhere and use this vintage purse.
One last thing I want to show you is our bathroom, just off of this bedroom. I don’t decorate bathrooms for the seasons, but I found this little vintage beach art last year, and it’s perfect for summer!
It’s the perfect little piece for this season!
Thank you so much for coming today! I hope you come back again soon. I’ve got a big room reveal coming up in a day or two! 😉 Now head on over to visit Judy at Life is Better at Home. You are going to love her light and bright home. I am in love with her mantle art. You don’t want to miss it!
This week, some of my blogging friends and I are sharing our summer home tours. Just click on the links below the images to be taken to see their full posts.
Sharing with me today….
Tuesday
Sincerely, Marie Designs // Cassie Bustamante // Life is Better at Home
Lemon Thistle // Grace in My Space // Maison de Cinq
And sharing the rest of this week…
Monday
The Happy Housie // Maison de Pax // Cuckoo4Design
Modern Glam // My 100 Year Old Home // Inspiration for Moms
Wednesday
Setting for Four // Clean & Scentsible // Life is a Party
My Sweet Savannah // All Things With Purpose // Tatertots & Jello
Thursday
Craftberry Bush // Finding Silver Pennies // The Tattered Pew
Rambling Renovators // Zevy Joy // Two Twenty One
Friday
She Gave it a Go // Taryn Whiteaker // Rooms FOR Rent
This is Simplicite // Dans le Lakehouse //Amber Tysl
